North Dakota
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The University of North Dakota competes as members of the Great West Conference (2004-2013) in NCAA Division I FCS football and NCAA Division I basketball. In 2012, the school will move to the Big Sky Conference in all sports. North Dakota is a public institution located in Grand Forks, North Dakota, in the northeastern part of the state on the Minnesota border, and only a couple of hours south of Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada. The school has an undergraduate enrollment of around 10,000. The school was embroiled in litigation in regard to the team's former nickname the Fighting Sioux, but has retired both the nickname and it's associated trademarks as of December, 2011. A new nickname will not be unveiled until January, 2015.
Most of the campus is contained in a narrow rectangle between University and Demers Avenues on Grand Forks' west side, a small campus lies east of Columbia road about a quarter-mile east of the rest of the Campus. The nearest interstate is Interstate 29 (exit 140). The Alerus Center (13,000) is off-campus, located between I-29 and 42nd Street. Betty Engelstad Center (3,600) host most basketball games, but some games are played at the opulent Ralph Englestad Arena (13,610), located on Columbia Road and home to the hockey team.
North Dakota's main rivals have been North Dakota State, South Dakota, and South Dakota State, all dating back to the old days of the North Central Conference (1922-2008). Those three schools however are now in the Summit League, so these series will continue as non-conference matchups. There is also a rivalry with Minnesota in hockey, but that will diminish when the two schools move to different leagues in 2013.
North Dakota has prepared 24 football players for NFL/AFL play. The basketball program has sent one alum to the NBA, but that alum is the winningest coach of all time, in terms of championships won. The name? Phil Jackson.
